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“Baby girl, out there, your attacker won’t care about your comfort. They’ll use your panic against you. So calm down and think.” I chuckle darkly into her ear, then I begin to slowly drag her backward toward the locker room.
I don’t just feel her heart rate pick up, I can scent her fear in the air, her breathing turning erratic. Fuck me to hell, because it turns me on.
“No.” She chokes on her words and then, using her panic and fear, she tries the move again, even as I slowly drag her backward. “No.”
She becomes a little frantic.
Call me a bastard, but I still hold her. This fear is her why. This right here, and I need her to realize it and work through it. She can, and she fucking will.
Why do I care? I don’t.
I swear I don’t.
“Again,” I bark at her.
A high-pitched whine escapes her lips, but she quickly bites down on her tongue to stifle it. Desperate to escape, she struggles against me again and again, until finally going limp in my arms, defeated.
Fuck.
“Damn it, Aria.” I pushed her too damn hard. Regret tries to swim in my stomach, but I squash it down. “Stay with me.” I let go of her, ready to let her relax, only she falls from my grasp.
A bead of sweat rolls down Aria’s temple, her face flushed an alarming shade of red. I notice her breathing becoming shallow, her movements sluggish. Suddenly, her eyes roll back, and she starts to collapse. White-hot fear pulses through my veins as I lunge forward, catching her just before she hits the mat. I sweep her into my arms, cradling her limp form. Her head lolls to the side, eyes showing only a sliver of white. How did I miss the signs? Guilt and panic war within me as I feel the heat radiating from her body.
I drop to the worn tatami mat, the familiar scent of sweat and disinfectant filling my nostrils. The harsh fluorescent lights cast stark shadows across Aria’s face as I cradle her in my arms. I press my hand to her cheek, feeling the heat radiating from her skin. The quiet hum of the air conditioning unit seems to mock the burning fever I feel beneath my palm.
“Aria,” I whisper, panic threading through my voice as I push back the silky strands of hair clinging to her sweat drenched forehead. Her winter clothes are soaked, trapping the heat. How didn’t I notice? Guilt churns in my gut as I rush her to the locker room, praying I haven’t pushed her too far, and head right for the shower. I could pop her in my car and run her home or to the hospital, but something in my gut tells me not to do that.
I’ve worked with enough abused women to know many of them try like hell to stay out of the systems for one reason or another. Sara’s face flashes in my mind—another student, another victim. I remember her panic when I suggested involving the authorities, the way she disappeared the next day, never to return. I won’t make that mistake again. I won’t do that to Aria without her permission.
I turn the water to cold, and holding her with all our clothing on, I step under the ice-cold spray.
Whether she realizes it or not, Aria is already part of my pack, and I protect my own.
As the icy water drenches us, I can’t help but think about the times I’ve had to be strong for others. The memories of those I couldn’t save haunt me, but I won’t let Aria be another regret. She deserves to feel safe and feel valued, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let her fall through the cracks.
Only one problem stands in the way—whoever she is running from.
I don’t want her to fall through the cracks, but I also won’t allow her to hurt my pack. The alpha in me yearns to protect her, to bring her into our fold. But the leader in me hesitates. What if her secrets put us all at risk? What if accepting her means losing the omega we’re destined for? The conflict tears at me, leaving me raw and uncertain. But as I hold her cooling body, I know I can’t just walk away, not from Aria.
12
ARIA
My lungs burn as I desperately gasp for air, my mind trapped in a thick, suffocating fog. Panic courses through me as I try to recall what happened, but my thoughts are mangled and elusive. One moment, I was fighting to break free from Zane’s grasp, and the next…darkness. No memories, no sense of time passing, just a vast emptiness that fills me with terror.
My eyes snap open, and I find Master Zane’s piercing blue gaze boring into me, his coldness seeping into my bones. Panic courses through me, bringing back a flood of memories from when Noah would trap me in similar, terrifying situations. The terror from those times resurfaces, making my body feel numb and icy. The scars on my back from Noah’s beatings are a constant reminder of why I can’t let my guard down.
My teeth chatter, and I clench them to keep from giving anything away.
“There you are, baby girl,” he coos, somehow easing my anxiety. It’s ironic, considering he is the whole reason I passed out.
If he keeps calling me baby girl, I just might slick myself again.
It probably has a lot more to do with the fact that it’s nearly noon and I haven’t eaten since last night. I spent all morning here in the dojo, determined to learn how to take out Noah. I pushed myself too hard and demanded that Master Zane push me too, and he did. He was relentless in his pursuit to make me face the reasons I showed up.
Fear zings through my blood at the thought that I almost told him everything, but I didn’t, and that’s what matters. I’ve learned the hard way that trusting someone can lead to unimaginable pain.
“Ah, thanks,” I say awkwardly, realizing he is holding me in the shower under an icy spray of water. That explains why I feel numb and cold. At least it’s diluting the smell of onion. Really, why did I think this was a good idea over the scent and heat suppressants?
